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| Lena Dunham |
Welcome back to the TV Recap column for the Golden Globe-winning HBO series Girls. Join me as I capture the exploits of the Lena Dunham-penned series as it ventures through another season of scandal, accidents, and life in general. Will it be another great season for the Tiny Furniture director and her growing cast of friends? Tune back every Friday to find out more.
Check out part 1 of the recap here.
We have officially reached the end of the Girls season 2. As I have stated in part 1, we have reached new highs and new lows. However, I don't feel like it is effective to really say what those moments were without actually ranking the episodes from best to worst. As I was compiling this list, I noticed that there were only three distinctive episodes that I loathed, so while some episodes rank a little low on this list, it doesn't mean that I hated them. It was a great season and just looking at the old recaps to get my thoughts together, I realize that even at its worse, Girls is a very ambitious show.
Here is the list from best to worst:
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| Jemima Kirke |
After the previous episode "Bad Friend," I was skeptical that the show was going to have an upward track record. Then, with this episode that revealed Ray (Alex Karpovsky) being homeless, the amazing argument between Jessa (Jemima Kirke) and Thomas John (Chris O'Dowd), and the heartfelt conversation between Marnie (Allison Williams) and Charlie (Christopher Abbott.It is such an amazingly well scripted show that showed the drama reaching new highs and only hinted at how dark the final stretch was going to be. With amazing performances, notably from Jemima Kirke, this is the pinnacle episode of Girls. They have yet to top it, but that doesn't mean that they haven't come close.
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| Alex Karpovsky |
"Boys"
In the middle of the moaning trilogy that I felt hurt season 2's overall quality came this piece in which we get Ray and Adam (Adam Driver) going to Staten Island to return a dog. Void of any of the girls, we get a stronger sense of why these two guys love the women that they do. Also, poor Marnie discovers just how sleazy Booth Jonathan (Jorma Taccione) is. While it may end on a very down note, it is the set-up for the final punch of darkness. It is also the last real moment of comedy for the rest of the season. However, one unfortunate plot hole that they never resolved: where did that poor dog go?
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| Left to right: Dunham, Becky Ann Baker, and Peter Scolari |
With this episode, I am convinced that the show is no longer a comedy. This is just one really dark drama with a very flawed character. For those that thought Hannah was disturbed before, wait until you see her walk out of a Judy Collins concert and regress to an OCD behavior from high school. The concept alone is fascinating and gives me some belief that next season will either see her go to the looney bin, or we explore her high school life, including my belief that she was anorexic at some point. The one downside is that this is the episode where Marnie and Charlie start getting back together, leaving me to wonder what happened to Audrey (Audrey Gelman) and how contradicting it is to "It's a Shame About Ray." However, Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet) is starting to feel like a real character by this point, so that is a plus.
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| Dunham |
"Together"
Probably the most perverse that the show has attempted to make every character happy. In a sense, this is figuratively a prequel to "Pilot," as almost everything seems to reset by the end of the episode. However, with all of the happy thoughts, it is still a bleak outcome with Hannah most likely going to get sued by her boss (John Cameron Mitchell) and Ray possibly working at a different Grumpy's, but not with his beloved Shoshanna. With all of this established, the episode's biggest highlight is the final moments in which Adam, who has become one of the most polarizing week-to-week characters I've ever seen, runs shirtless to Hannah's aid only to hold her in his arms and claim that he was always there for her. Also, this is the second appearance of Laird (Jon Glaser), whose brief critique of Hannah is a nice touch, though leaves me wishing he was more active on the show. Also, Hannah's father (Peter Scolari) gets moment to shine without the mother (Becky Ann Baker) there to interrupt him. It may be heartbreaking, but at least I feel like he is more than a caricature now.
For those that don't believe that Girls went dark with "It's Back," I would like you to consider the following episode. In this episode, Hannah potentially goes deaf from a q-tip injury, Adam potentially rapes Natalia (Shiri Appleby), and Marnie sings Kanye West's "Faster" in the most uncomfortable way possible. One of the things I admire is how Hannah's parents factored into the last half of this season, giving me assumptions that they will be more involved next season. However, this episode is so dark and disturbing that any hope of the old, light hearted season 1 stories would seem amateur in comparison. It mostly raised the bar and makes it impossible to predict where the show will go next. However, I doubt it will be returning to comedy any time soon. I am just glad that Hannah didn't go deaf in this episode, or we'd be in a weird predicament right now.
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| Left to right: Allison Williams and Andrew Rannels |
Season 2 begins on a fairly high, frivolous note. While it does little to predict where the show is going (leave that for "I Get Ideas"), it does add some interesting elements. We discover what Elijah (Andrew Rannels) is like as a roommate, how awkward the Marnie/Charlie/Audrey triangle really is, and how Shoshanna is not ready to accept Ray, possibly laying clues for their tragic break-up at the end of the season. Sure, in comparison to later plot points, this is a little bit ridiculous, especially with the Marnie/Elijah sex scene, but it is the show coming back with a celebration and at least showing us the aftermath of "She Did." It may not be amazing, but it definitely proved that the show was still capable of pulling some surprise punches.
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| Left to right: Donald Glover and Dunham |
Oddly the most disappointing cameo of the season was the one I was most anticipating. Sandy (Donald Glover) is a black Republican who is dating Hannah. However, this all dissolves in a two episode arc that results in it just being commentary on people claiming the show isn't racially diverse enough. It feels like a gimmick in that respects and while it leads to some interesting political talk, it rings false otherwise. Also, it does seem odd that this is Hannah's last established solid relationship. The real highlight is how Adam manages to play creepy, sympathetic, and angry all in the course of the episode's closing minutes in a way that proves just how enigmatic he can get. Not necessarily a bad episode, but with the Adam breaking and entering plot, it set the tone for the rest of the season, and that alone should be some credit for the brilliant level of writing.
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| Left to right: Kirke and Ben Mendelsohn |
With Rilo Kiley on the soundtrack, it is disappointing that they didn't just spring for the Lana del Rey that bears the episode's name. However, this episode raises the question on why we really needed to get a look into Jessa's home life. Her parents are whack jobs and that was already well assumed. Even Hannah's UTI subplot, as effective as it was in setting up the last half of the season, just was grating. There isn't any real substance here besides the fact that the show needed to write off Jessa due to Jemima Kirke's real like pregnancy. It feels like a lesser version of "The Return." This also capped the moaning trilogy with a terrible line reading of "I'm the child," which was meant to sound shrill and vulnerable, but comes across as a little hard on the ears.
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| Left to right: Dunham, Patrick Wilson, Karpovsky |
Ray kills it in this episode. His wise cracks to Joshua (Patrick Wilson) were excellent. With that established, this is the most inessential episode in the show's entire run. Not only did it launch the moaning trilogy with Hannah complaining that she wanted to live all of the life, but it is a meandering look into a relationship that was for naught. Joshua isn't that fascinating of a character and all of the scenes eventually feel like meandering. Worse of all, for the big twist at the end that Hannah is vulnerable, this is a blatant example of showing that is just unnecessary, especially as the last half of the season better explains this without having to blatantly say it. I don't understand why "One Man's Trash" needed to exist as a central story. Maybe with another plot mixed in, it would be fine, but as a whole, I just cannot recommend it.
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| Left to right: Rannels and Dunham |
Hooray on getting Booth back on the show and doing all sorts of weird stuff with him. That was pretty fascinating. However, I don't feel like Hannah and drugs really equals the show at its best. Lena Dunham doesn't do a convincing high person and as the episode dissolves into Hannah telling Marnie that she is a bad friend, it almost feels like the show is now a parody of itself, spouting fake wisdom and trying to convince us that Hannah is right. The episode is just awful and while it essentially is the farewell between the two former roommates, we do get one bright side. Laird is a weird character and I feel like he has more to offer in future seasons. The only matter now is writing a good episode with him in it. Until then, this episode's choice to feel self indulgent just leaves it as the worst episode the show has ever produced.
*BONUS!*
Best Guest Star
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| Left to right: Dunham and John Cameron Mitchell |
John Cameron Mitchell
I know that I haven't talked at great length about it, but as far as guest stars go, the show has exceeded itself on all accounts. I was originally going to use someone like Jon Glaser or Shiri Appleby, but then John Cameron Mitchell popped up as Hannah's boss, and while I feel he will evolve from cameo to full time next season, his professionalism is the great counterbalance to Hannah's failure to launch. He is the serious threat to the show's irresponsibility and he doesn't sugarcoat anything. It is somewhat infectious and I just wonder if more characters like him will pop up to help give the show a more well rounded sense of maturity.
Worst Guest Star
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| Patrick Wilson |
Patrick Wilson
This was a pretty tough choice, but when it came down to it, Ben Mendelsohn at least had interesting points in his story. Donald Glover could rant about politics like a pro. Patrick Wilson? Not so much. His character just felt like it existed to have Patrick Wilson cameo on Girls. There isn't anything all that amazing about his time on the show and as I previously stated, it didn't warrant an entire episode guest appearance.
There you have it. It has been great to recap Girls season 2 and I hope to be back for next season, when there should be 13 episodes and a whole lot of dark stuff happening. Until then, I hope that you continue to check out my other recaps series as they pop up and if you want to provide any feedback, please feel more than welcome to. I look forward to hearing your thoughts about where the show went and where it could go.
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